Saturday, 13 August 2016

Cambodia Court to Hold Public Hearing Into Kem Ley Killing

13 August 2016

Kann Vicheika

VOA Khmer

FILE
- Tens of thousands of Cambodians march at a funeral procession of Kem
Ley, heading to his homeland in Takeo’s Tramkak district on Sunday, July
24, 2016. Independent political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead on
Sunday, July 10, 2016 in Phnom Penh. (Leng Len/VOA Khmer)

FILE
- Tens of thousands of Cambodians march at a funeral procession of Kem
Ley, heading to his homeland in Takeo’s Tramkak district on Sunday, July
24, 2016. Independent political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead on
Sunday, July 10, 2016 in Phnom Penh. (Leng Len/VOA Khmer)

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A local rights defender casts doubt on the authorities’ ability to find justice in the case.

PHNOM PENH —

A
senior Interior Ministry official has announced that the trial into the
daylight murder of political analyst and government critic Kem Ley will
be open to public scrutiny.

No
specific date was set for the trial to begin, but General Khieu Sopheak
added that the CCTV footage from the gas station where Ley was murdered
would be aired during the proceedings.

Gen.
Khieu Sopheak, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said “it is for the
court to determine a date, but now it is investigating and collecting
evidence and it will hold a trial.”

Kem
Ley, a prominent researcher and political analyst, was gunned down on
July 10 at a coffee shop in central Phnom Penh, just days after he spoke
out publicly about alleged corruption by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s
family highlighted in a recent report by NGO Global Witness, which
showed the family controls companies worth at least $200 million.

Ly
​ Sophanna, Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman, said the court was
“pushing the investigation in this case,” but added that it was not
guaranteed that the public would be allowed access to the proceedings.
“We will check the real situation,” he said.

The
alleged gunman, Ang Oeuth, was arrested shortly after the incident, but
has told police his name is “Choub Samlab”, which in the local Khmer
language means “Meet Kill”.

He was charged with premeditated murder and possessing an illegal weapon.

Am
Sam Ath, technical coordinator for local human rights group Licadho,
cast doubt on the authorities’ ability to find justice in the case.

“It
depends on the [political] will and what was behind the murder of Mr
Ley, and whether the government and the authorities dare to reveal the
truth behind the mysterious shooting,” he said.

Meas
Ny, a political and social analyst, warned that if those behind the
murder were not seen to be brought to justice, “it could cause public
anger and also danger… It could lead to violence.”​

The
government has complained of difficulties in carrying out the
investigation into the killing, blaming the “stubbornness” of the key
suspect, despite there reportedly being at least two videos of the
incident captured of close-circuit television cameras.

1 comment:

This is a good news. But Khmer people need to follow the proceeding closely.

JUSTICE WILL NOT DROP FROM THE SKY TO SERVE KHMER PEOPLE

The culture of impunity has killed many Khmer heroes.

To stop the killing of Khmer heroes, we must fight to stop this impunity.

A peaceful demonstration is needed to denounce the brutal killing of Dr. Kem Ley and force Ah Kouk Hun Sen to find the killers and the mastermind behind the killing.

As we all have known, inactions produced nothing.

Actions to support the just cause - to stop impunity - will help Khmer people in their struggle to free Cambodia from the evil Yuon Vietnam.

The evil Yuon Vietnam and its puppet CPP have killed many Khmer heroes FOR FREE thanks to this culture of impunity.

It is time for "Khmer Pouch Neak Chambang" to wake up and fight to win this one battle (impunity) first. Win one battle at a time. Next battle should be stopping the mass influx of the illegal Vietnamese migrants or illegal loggings.

It is highly likely that the killing of Dr. Kem Ley was committed by Yuon because Dr. Kem Ley's 100 night mission had explicitly exposed the Vietnamization of Cambodia.

But Yuon is smart at committing bad deeds or crime. Yuon has waited patiently for the right moment to smash Dr. Kem Ley and indirectly let the blame fall onto Ah Kouk Hun Sen.

In effect, Yuon saw Dr. Kem Ley made comments about Global witness's report on Hun Sen's family. Two days later Kem Ley was dead. Most of Khmer people pointed their fingers to Hun Sen.

That's how Yuon killed Khmer and then blaming the killings on Khmer, especially during the Pol Pot era.

Finally, Ah Kouk Hun Sen must exert his efforts to find the real killers to fulfill his duty, to clarify his name, and also to prove to Khmer people that he is no longer a Yuon's puppet.

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